Staying hydrated: How to drink more water

Thursday, 3 October 2013

Many people know that drinking enough water is part of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. But what does water really mean for our wellbeing?

The short answer is, it’s crucial. While data recorded during hunger strikes show that some people can live for up to two months without food, we can only survive for a few days without water. According to the Drinking Water Research Foundation, the reason for this is that H20 serves an array of vital functions within the body, including regulating body temperature, dissolving vitamins and minerals so that they can be easily absorbed, carrying oxygen to the cells, and lightening the load of the kidneys and liver by helping to flush out waste products. Yet research shows that many people live in a state of dehydration much of the time.

A 2004 study by the National Academy of Science (NAS) in the US found that, on average, men need to drink roughly three litres of water a day to stay well hydrated, while women require just over two litres. In extremely hot weather, or if you exercise a lot, you’ll need to drink even greater quantities. If you’re consuming less than you should, or you notice you often feel thirsty, here are a few suggestions to up your H20 intake:

Keep a glass of water by your bed at night – that way, if you wake up thirsty, you’ll be easily able to reach for it rather than simply ignoring the feeling and going back to sleep.

Spice up your water – add sliced ginger root, mint, lemon or thyme to give it extra flavour and aroma. Not only does this make it more tempting to drink, but many herbs and spices have health properties of their own.

Use a straw – it makes drinking large amounts of water seem more manageable. Have a glass of water first thing in the morning and last thing at night before you go to bed.

Choose water as an alternative to tea, coffee or fizzy drinks – it’s affordable, devoid of calories, and doesn’t contain the caffeine that is in tea and coffee. Alternatively, substitute herbal teas instead.

Keep a bottle of water with you at all times so you always have easy access to it. Make sure it’s a glass or stainless steel bottle – some studies suggest that reusing plastic bottles may pose a health hazard to humans, although further research is still warranted to establish whether this is true. But while the jury is still out on this topic, rather be safe than sorry.

Now that you have an arsenal of ideas for upping your water intake, there’s one note of caution – beware of going to the extreme and drinking too much water. While dehydration can be unhealthy – even deadly – drinking vast quantities of water has been associated with another dangerous condition known as exercise-associated hyponatraemia (EAH), or water intoxication. EAH causes a low blood sodium concentration and causes swelling of the brain, resulting in confusion, seizures and loss of consciousness. So stay aware of how much – as well as how little – water you drink at all times.

After spending most of the last decade working as a journalist and editor in Thailand and travelling the East, Cindy returned to the Mother City in September 2010. She has written for a wide spectrum of online and offline publications in both South Africa and SE Asia and is passionate about reading, writing, food, globe-trotting and cats.

I <3 water! I can drink more than 2l's a day… I have a bottle next to my desk, you dont realise how quickly you drink it then. I feel bloated when I havent had a good litre and a half minimum. I love adding Mint and Lemon slices in the evening then leaving it over night in the fridge. The most refreshing drink!

I always have water on me and it’s been a habit of mine for years now to always sip on it. My rule is one full glass of water before bed and first thing in the morning. The sipping on water during the day accounts for almost 2 litres for me and my skin has really changed since.

I like to drink hot water with lemon in the morning and have a glass of water before bed. To delay hunger pangs I also down a glass. I agree that boiling the water helps with the taste. Tap water really doesn’t do it for me. And yet I still struggle to get my intake up. I think 5 glasses at most is all I can manage – but maybe that’s because I’m small in stature? Its just I hate having to go to the loo every 5 seconds because upping my intake always does that.

Water helps for so much. If you are hydrated it even helps to make wrinkles look less. Ones system works so much easier, it is even said; lack of water has an influence on cholesterol.
Found I can drink many mugs a day when I boil the water and have it as if I would have had a cuppa, helps with frequency and taste.
Like your article say, I like it with cucumber, and the fruit and mint, but this in room temperature water.

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